Kenneth Noland

André Emmerich Gallery, Inc., New York
Galerie Lawrence, Paris
Dayton's Gallery 12, Minneapolis
Private Collection, Florida 
Sotheby's, New York, 4 May 1987, Lot 47 (consigned by the above)
Private Collection, Beverly Hills (acquired from the above sale)
Private Collection (acquired from the above)
Christie's, New York, 16 March 2006, Lot 273 (consigned by the above)
Acquired from the above sale by the present owner

New York, André Emmerich Gallery, Inc., Kenneth Noland, April - May 1963

Kenworth Moffett, Kenneth Noland, New York 1977, no. 140, illustrated

This work is in very good condition overall. There is a slight discoloration from staining along the top edge, notably in the upper right. There is a very faint light blue drip accretion that extends vertically along the upper right edge. There is a pinpoint brown drip accretion at the left edge and upper center. Under close inspection, several faint and unobtrusive vertical drip accretions are visible along the lower right edge of the pink form, a result of the artist’s chosen medium. Under raking light there are two areas of slight discoloration to the unpainted canvas between the orange and pink painted areas. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, the aforementioned areas of discoloration fluoresce lightly and appear to have benefitted from light retouching. The canvas is stretched over an additional linen canvas support that is not adhered to the back of the canvas. Framed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Kenneth Noland’s Flush belongs to the artist’s acclaimed Chevron paintings from 1963-1964. Evenly spaced and organized vertically on the canvas, the composition of brightly colored bands is elegantly articulated across a central axis. The influence of Josef Albers, under whom Noland studied at Black Mountain College, is evident in the artist’s studied application of color and form. Building upon his earlier Target series, where concentric bands of pure color orbited within the space of the canvas, Noland’s Chevrons breach the margins of the stretcher and expand out into the realm of the viewer. Devoid of the expressionistic showmanship characteristic of abstract painting in the 1950s, Flush heralds a new era, dedicated to the primacy of the art object and its inherent properties above all: "Noland's search of the ideal Platonic form has crystallized into an art in which color and form are held in perfect equilibrium. The spare geometry of his form heightens the emotional impact of his color. The rational and the felt, distilled form and sensuous color intermesh to create a magic presence. His space is color. His color is space. Color is all” (Diane Waldman, Kenneth Noland: A Retrospective, New York 1977, p. 36).

Executed in 1963, Flush exists at the brink of Noland’s investigations in color and technique using the Chevron format. By 1964 Noland’s bands of colors merge into dense ‘V’ formations that set the painted and unpainted parts of the canvas in opposition. Yet in Flush, Noland has given equal weight to the colored/uncolored areas. In doing so the composition achieves a level of symmetry, centrality, and harmony, unparalleled in his work directly preceding or following. In order to equate space and color, Noland employed a unique staining technique which endowed the surface of his paintings with a revolutionary degree of unity with the canvas. Acutely aware that hard edges accentuate the effect of staining, while the stain in turn softens the geometry and prevents rigidity, Noland allowed his staining to dovetail his design. This process served both to open the picture and to identify color with surface. Here, raw canvas is allowed to function both as its literal self, as well as a space to generate light, air, and atmosphere. "I do open paintings," Noland emphasized. "I like lightness, airiness, and the way color pulsates. The presence of the painting is all that's important" (the artist in Kenneth Moffet, Kenneth Noland, New York 1977, p. 51). Although eschewing any hint of representation, the title, Flush, together with the warm tangerine, rose, and mahogany hues evokes color rising on a woman’s cheek, or a deck of cards laid out in succession.

Since 1958, Noland's paintings have been regarded as the quintessential cornerstones of Color Field painting, with a robust art historical lineage. Along with Morris Louis and Helen Frankenthaler, Noland was championed by Clement Greenberg, the most influential critic and arbiter of 20th century American Modernism as well as the foremost theorist on advanced modernist painting. The clarity, articulation and resolution of Flush mark a high moment in the history of modern painting post-1945 and grip the viewer in its simplicity and grace. By accepting certain characteristics of the stain as a positive, this etherealness, toughened by crisp pictorial logic and thus by the tenseness of his unities, defines Noland's artistic sensibility.